This video has been going around for the past few weeks, and thankfully I finally took the time to check it out. Meet Malcolm and Jarad. They are two young metalheads that are defying all expectations to play the music that they wanna hear. This short doc defies the viewers expectations as well, which is one of the reasons the story is so compelling. They are young black kids, but they are into metal. Even though they are into loud, aggressive music they bring with them a message against bullying.

I think the piece also shows a nice and simple narrative arc. We hear them talk about the venues they imagine themselves performing at while they are practicing in the basement. These venues are huge and obviously the stuff of dreams. Still, there is some progression. In the end, we see them emerging from the basement to perform on the streets of NYC in front of a large crowd. The confidence they developed in the basement when they imagined playing for 40K people really comes across in their performance for 50 people.

I’ve been a fan of these kids since raw footage of them playing on the streets first surfaced about a year ago. As much as I’m intrigued by the fact that they’re so young, I’m more drawn in by my love for any metal band that utilizes half-time in the way these kids do. It’s really progressive stuff actually.

My favorite shots in this mini-doc though are the ones that really give you a sense of the lives they lead. I love the slow-mo cut of them walking in front of the dainty glass menagerie in one of their parents’ homes. I also gain another degree of respect for them just by seeing that really quick cut of an autographed picture from The Iron Sheik. It proves that the littlest of details can add so much to a story.

Ok these kids rock! I always like to see a story about people, especially kids, breaking the mold of what is going to be expected of them and going a completely different direction. What made me really take notice in this though, is that although it is a documentary it feels like it is shot like a music video. It cuts to slow motion shots of them walking through the street, and painting his nails, finally before showing them playing in front of a crowd. It really felt like a music video and that is some awesome and creative editing.

This video tells such a good story and has some nice, intimate moments such as the very first scene where the kids are in a bedroom and one of them is reading something while the other one is drumming on his leg. I like some of the cuts in this video too, such as the one at 0:31 where it shows clippings hanging on a mirror. They help illustrate the point the video is trying to make, which is that these kids do not fit the stereotype.